Junior Tournaments

Loeb sweeps singles, doubles titles at Winter Nationals

Jamie Loeb, 16, of Ossining, N.Y., swept the girls’ 18s singles and doubles titles at the 2011 USTA 18s Winter National Championships, and 17-year-old Jared Hiltzik of Wilmette, Ill., won the boys’ 18s title on Monday. Many of the nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships, the last major national junior championships of 2011, in five cities in Arizona last week.

Loeb, the event’s No. 5 seed, defeated No. 2 seed Mayo Hibi of Irvine, Calif., 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in the girls’ 18s final in Mesa, Ariz., and teamed with Madeline Lipp of Lake Forest, Ill., to win the doubles title. She dropped just two sets in seven matches en route to the title. The win gives Loeb her second USTA Winter National title in as many years after winning the girls’ 16s title in 2010.

Hiltzik entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated top-seeded Kristofer Yee of Las Vegas, 6-2, 6-3, to capture his first career national singles title in Phoenix. Hiltzik dropped just one set – in a tiebreak in his fourth round match – en route to the title. He will enroll at the University of Illinois in the fall.

Paul Oosterbaan, a 16-year-old from Kalamazoo, Mich., became the first junior from the Kalamazoo area (the longtime home of the USTA Boys’ 18s National Hardcourt Championships) to win a USTA national title at the USTA Boys’ 16s Winter National Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz. Oosterbaan, the No. 5 seed, beat No. 12 seed Marshall Sharp of Memphis, Tenn., 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in the final.

No. 3 seed Jessica Ho of Wexford, Pa., who turns 15 on Jan. 5, continued her strong play in December, defeating No. 12 Allison Miller of Norcross, Ga., 6-2, 7-6 (3), in the girls’ 16s final in Tempe, Ariz., to win her first career national singles title. Ho reached the girls’ 16s quarterfinals at both the Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl last month. Prior to reaching the singles final, Miller teamed with fellow Georgian Lindsey Hodge of Roswell to win the doubles title.

Francis Tiafoe, 13, of College Park, Md., swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 14s Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz. Tiafoe, the top seed in both the singles and doubles draws, beat No. 4 seed Michael Genender of Los Angeles, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in the singles final, and partnered with Chase Colton of Davie, Fla., to win the doubles title. Tiafoe reached the semifinals at both premier international 14-and-under events – Les Petits As in France and the AEGON Junior International in England, in January 2011.

Below is the complete list of championship results from last week’s USTA Winter National Championships: